Note: Javascript is disabled or is not supported by your browser. For this reason, some items on this page will be unavailable. For more information about this message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov.

Disease

The first symptoms of trichinellosis are gastrointestinal, usually occurring 1-2 days after a person consumes raw or undercooked meat from a Trichinella-infected animal. These symptoms include:

Nausea

Diarrhea

Vomiting

Abdominal pain

The classic trichinellosis symptoms often occur within 2 weeks after eating contaminated meat, and can last up to 8 weeks:

Muscle pain

Fever

Swelling of the face, particularly the eyes

Weakness or fatigue

Headache

Chills

Itchy skin or rash

Cough

Diarrhea

Constipation

Symptoms may range from very mild to severe and relate to the number of infectious worms consumed in the meat. Many mild cases of trichinellosis are never specifically diagnosed because they are assumed to be the flu or other common illnesses. Furthermore, many people with Trichinella infection do not experience any symptoms at all.

If the infection is heavy, persons may have trouble coordinating movements, and have heart and breathing problems. Although rare, death can occur in severe cases. For mild to moderate infections, most symptoms go away within a few months.